Covington vs. North Port in Suncoast finale

A scrappy bunch of Colonels from Covington, Ky., prevented the championship game of the Suncoast Holiday Classic from having a true Suncoast flavor.

Undefeated Covington Catholic tied its semifinal game against host Riverview High on Saturday night with a basket at the buzzer, then outscored the Rams 14-11 in overtime for the 68-65 victory in the most entertaining contest of the tournament.

The victory kept the Colonels undefeated at 7-0 and earned them a spot in Monday night’s title game against North Port High, a 58-43 semifinal winner over Tampa Sickles.

A basketball game that had everything, right down to complaints about the officiating from both benches, came down to several critical junctures.

Covington jumped out to an early 15-8 first-quarter lead, but the Rams battled back to tie it 25-all at the break.

In the third quarter, Nick Havener’s 10 points put the Rams up 45-39 heading in the fourth, a margin the Colonels erased on a free throw from Cole VonHandorf with one minute, 20 seconds left, putting them up 52-51.

But with 46 seconds left, Ram freshman AJ Caldwell hit perhaps the biggest shot of his young career, a 3-pointer from the wing that nudged the Rams back in front, 54-52.

On the shot, Caldwell sprained his ankle, forcing him to the bench. Covington’s Nick Ruthsatz missed a runner in the lane with 24 seconds left, and when the Colonels were forced to foul, the game appeared sewn up for the Rams.

But on consecutive trips to the foul line, Riverview senior Austin Walker and Havener missed the front ends of one-and-ones.

“That does happen,” Riverview head coach BJ Ivey would later say.

The misses gave the Colonels one last chance, and after a blown layup by VonHandorf, the freshman redeemed himself. Covington got the ball back, and point guard Ruthsatz (20 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) found VonHandorf in the corner.

His jumper at the buzzer tied it at 54-all. And in the OT frame, the Colonels collected points on their first four possessions. A drive and bucket by the Rams’ DJ Bryant with 1:48 left evened the game at 61.

But the Colonels responded, getting a bucket in the paint from Grant Romes and two free throws from Ruthsatz.

Down 68-65 with 10 seconds left, Bryant went to the line, needing to make the first free throw, but miss the second and hope the Rams grab the rebound.

Instead, Bryant missed the first, then the second intentionally. The rebound was secured by the Colonels, who then ran out the clock.

“It was back and forth the whole time,” said Covington head coach Scott Ruthsatz. “I thought our guys really dug in. I think everything revolves around our point guard. He kind of dictates everything.”

The Colonels shot 56 percent from 2-point territory, compared to 51 percent for the Rams. But Covington collected 21 points off turnovers to the Rams’ 13, and the visitors also shot 28 free throw to Riverview’s 14.

Havener led the Rams with 20 points, and Caldwell and Walker each chipped in 13.

“They’re a good basketball team,’’ said Ivey. “A lot of breaks went their way. They’re very, very physical. Probably the most physical basketball I think we’ve had in the tournament.”

NORTH PORT 58, TAMPA SICKLES 43

North Port got 15 points from Justyn Miller, 14 from Brandon Gonzalez and 12 from Malek Barber in its 15-point victory over the Gryphons.

The Bobcats led for much of the game, at several points maintaining a double-digit bulge, but in the fourth quarter, Sickles twice drew within six, the last on a 3-pointer from Isaac Holder with 5:32 left.

But that was as close as the Gryphons would come. The Bobcats (12-1) got a trey from Gonzalez, then a follow bucket from Barber.

While Sickles went cold, missing four of five 3-pointers, the Bobcats closed it out with a layup by Gonzalez and free throws from Barber and Miller. “It was a very good win against a very solid, very good team,” said North Port head coach Travis Slanger. “I think in the beginning of the tournament we didn’t do a nice job of moving the ball. We settled for jump shots, we settled for anything we could get off the dribble.”